Coalbrookdale Co - Graces Guide Grace's Guide British Industrial History Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 121,941 pages of information and 183,433 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them. Coalbrookdale Co Jump to: navigation , search Hydraulically-powered mine pumping engine, designed by Richard Trevithick , castings made by the Coalbrookdale Co in 1819. On display at the Peak District Mining Museum 1870. Ornate lamp on Thames Embankment . 1873. Large's Patent Fire Grate. 1880. c1875. Bench. Exhibit at Birmingham Museum . Horse Chestnut design patented in 1868. 1881 1881. Steam fire pump, Parker & Weston's patent 1891. Lamp on Barnstaple river front. Ironfounders of Coalbrookdale, Shropshire. Telephone: Ironbridge 17 and 99. Telegraphic Address: "Darby, Coalbrookdale".

(1937) Coalbrookdale is a settlement in a side valley of the Ironbridge Gorge in the borough of Telford and Wrekin. It was one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution. [1] Contents 5 Sources of Information General 1708 The Coalbrookdale Furnace, which had been damaged in an explosion, was sublet to Abraham Darby , a Bristol brass and iron founder and ironmonger. Darby was interested in smelting iron for casting without the use of charcoal. He rebuilt the furnace. 1709 Darby introduced coke as a smelting fuel. Coalbrookdale has been claimed as the home of the world's first coke-fired blast furnace; this is not strictly correct, but it was the first in Europe to operate successfully for more than a few years. 1709 The Company was founded by Abraham Darby . By c.1713 he evidently regarded the results of his trials with coke as satisfactory. His business was that of an iron founder, making cast iron pots and other goods, an activity in which he was particularly successful because of his patented foundry method, which enabled him to produce cheaper pots than his rivals. c.

1715 A second furnace was built. Iron for foundry work was not only produced from the blast furnaces but also by remelting pig iron in air furnaces, a variety of reverberatory furnace. 1715 The Coalbrookdale Co. became principal lessee of the Coalbrookdale works. 1717 Darby died prematurely, followed quickly by his widow Mary. The company passed to a group led by his fellow Quaker Thomas Goldney of Bristol (father of Thomas Goldney who joined as a clerk and represented his father's interests) and managed by Richard Ford (also a Quaker). Abraham Darby (1711-1763) was brought into the business as an assistant manager when he was old enough. 1718 the Coalbrookdale Co. began to take an interest in the nearby forges, and restored the Old Forge to working order. The Great forge was sublet to Capt. Thomas Stanley but the company took it back in 1720. The Lower forge, sublet to Cornelius Hallen since 1708, continued to supply the Coalbrookdale and other works until the 1730s.

Iron was now being made in large quantities for many customers. In the 1720s and 1730s, its main products were cast iron cooking pots, kettles and other domestic articles. The Company also became early suppliers of steam engine cylinders, and pf pig iron for use by other foundries. From the 1730s to the 1790s the Coalbrookdale Co. expanded greatly with capital and financial management from two Bristol mercantile families, the Goldneys (1718-c.1770) and the Reynoldses (from c. 1780); policy and management of the works remained mostly with the Darbys. 1747 Mr. Ford succeeded at Coalbrookdale in smelting iron ore with pit-coal, after which it was refined in the usual way by means of coke and charcoal. [2] From the 1750s the company integrated its operations, acquiring mines and blast furnaces, including the Bedlam Furnaces in Madeley Wood and mines and mineral rights belonging to Madeley manor.

In about 1754, renewed experiments took place with the application of coke pig iron to the production of malleable bar iron in charcoal finery forges. This proved to be a success and was the beginning of a great expansion in coke iron making. It led to the partners building new furnaces at Horsehay and Ketley to exploit the discovery, thereby freeing the Old furnace at Coalbrookdale for another major contribution to industrial development, the precise casting of parts which came to provide the opportunity to make steam engines. 1757 The mines in the township of Wrockwardine Wood began to supply ironstone to the Coalbrookdale partners' works at Coalbrookdale, Horsehay, and Ketley. 1768 the Company produced the first cast iron rails for railways. 1778 Abraham Darby (1750-1789) undertook the building of the world's first cast iron bridge, the iconic Iron Bridge , opened in 1780. The fame of this bridge leads many people today to associate the Industrial Revolution with the neighbouring village of Ironbridge, but in fact most of the work was done at Coalbrookdale, as there was no settlement at Ironbridge in the eighteenth century.

By 1778 the Company had cast more than 100 cylinders for steam engines and made many complete engines, including Boulton and Watt engines, under licence. In the late 18th century, produced some structural ironwork, including for Buildwas Bridge . This was built in 1795, 2 miles up the river from the original Ironbridge. Due to advances in technology, it used only half as much cast iron despite being 30 feet (9 m) wider than the Ironbridge. By 1790 the Coalbrookdale partners owned one of the largest iron-making concerns in the country. 1791 'An iron bridge has been made by the Colebrook-Dale Company, which is to be thrown over one of the canals in Holland.' [3] 1792 The Coalbrookdale Co - William Rathbone , Samuel Darby, Sarah Darby, William Reynolds , George Boxall and Mark Gilpin - in agreement with Richard Reynolds about land on the bank of the Severn [4] . 1794 Dissolution of the partnership between (involved in) the Coalbrookdale Co [5] .

The name of partnership was changed from Richard Reynolds and Co. to William Reynolds and Co . 1796 Thomas Telford began a new project, the Longdon aqueduct. It carried the Shrewsbury Canal over the River Tern and was supported by cast iron columns. Charles Bage designed and built the world's first multi-storey cast-iron-framed mill. It used only brick and iron, with no wood, to improve its fire-resistance. In the 19th century ornamental ironwork became a speciality. 1797 the Darby's and Reynolds' interests were separated. 1802 The firm's success in casting of parts led eventually to the visit of Richard Trevithick to Coalbrookdale and the manufacture of the first steam locomotive there. The Darbys continued to trade as the Coalbrookdale Co. but in the early 19th century their Coalbrookdale works became less important than their operations elsewhere. 1816 Supplied the ironwork for Liffey Bridge in Dublin (originally called Halfpenny or Ha'penny Bridge). 1817 'Cast Iron Bridge, Strangeways.

— This bridge, an elegantly-neat structure of one arch of 122 feet span, opening a desirable communication between Salford and Strangeways, over the river Irwell, is now completed, and may deservedly be considered as proof of the decided superiority of cast-iron bridges, in the essential points of economy and facility of execution, the abutments and bridge having been completed in the short period of eight months; and with a slightness of scaffolding, and limited number of workmen, truly astonishing ; as we understand that, after the completion of the abutments, not more than from six to ten workmen were employed, to fix the scaffolding and complete the iron-work. — The erection of this bridge was contracted for by the Coalbrookdale Company.' [6] 1818 the furnaces were shut down but the foundries remained in use. 1820 Closure of the works was considered. 1830s Under Francis, the manufacture of art castings stimulated recovery. The Coalbrookdale Co became noted for its decorative ironwork, including the gates of London's Hyde Park. 1845 The company bought the property from the Lord of the Manor.

1849 the Company was awarded the Gold Medal of the Society of Arts for its castings. 1849 The Darbys relinquished management as their interest focussed on Ebbw Vale , although they still owned an interest in the company 1851 It was claimed that the Coalbrookdale foundry was the world's largest. 1851 Award at the 1851 Great Exhibition . See details at 1851 Great Exhibition: Reports of the Juries: Class V. c.1850 The company built a school at Pool Hill which accommodated 700 of the employees' children and the Church in Coalbrookdale in which cast iron was used in abundance. 1852 Abraham Darby (1804-1878) was entitled to 88 shares (out of 720) in the ironworks and collieries of Coalbrookdale Co and sold them to Mary Darby [8] . 1853 it was proposed to form a Coalbrookdale Literary and Scientific Institute and this was followed in 1856 by the School of Art. 1860 A second phase of locomotive building.

[9] 1866 Reorganisation affected the furnaces at Horshays; the lower forge; the Lighthouse Brickworks; the farm and the mines at Broseley; and the foundry at Coalbrookdale. [10] 1876 Thomas Parker and Philip Weston developed their Patent Steam Pump [11] . 1876 Exhibitor at the Royal Agricultural Show at Birmingham with pumps under the Smith and Weston's patent. [12] 1881 Private limited company. The company was registered on 12 July, to take over the business of the Coalbrookdale Co, as coal and ironmasters, ironfounders and engineers. [13] 1881 Steam fire pumps produced under Parker and Weston patent. [14] After 1886 the company had no ironworks outside Coalbrookdale. 1886 A. E. W. Darby became chairman (1886-1925). He was the last Darby to be connected with the firm. During his time, new foundries and workshops were built at Dale End (1901) and over the Lower furnace pool (c.1903).

1891 Advert. Ironfounders and metal workers. [15] 1922 Cockburns linked up with McDowall Steven and Co , Planet and Coalbrookdale to form the Light Castings Group. 1926 Mr. A. E. W. Darby, fourth in descent from Abraham Darby (1711-1763), died in 1926. c.1927 After Darby's death the firm was absorbed by Light Castings , of Audenshaw, a private Company with a capital of £600,000. 1927 See Aberconway for information on the company and its history. 1929 Light Castings was absorbed by Allied Ironfounders . 1930 new works were erected over the filled Upper forge pool; these replaced the Upper Works erected around and over the Old furnace during the 19th century. 1937 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. No. 4 S.B. "Hearthside" Range with Low Pressure Boiler. "Daleport" "C" Oven-over-fire Combination Grate. No. 2 "Dalecast" Side oven Combination Grate.

No. 8 "Servall" Oven-over-fire Combination Grate in vitreous enamel and Berlin black finishes. (Stand Nos. B.609 and B.508) [16] 1945 Production mainly of new types of fire grate and the 'Rayburn' cooker. 1961 Light iron founders. Makers of Rayburn cooker, "Brook" fire and "Marves" fire. 600 employees. [17] 1969 Allied Ironfounders was acquired by Glynwed 1978 the works became Glynwed 's automobile and engineering division. A Sketch of the Industrial History of the Coalbrookdale District By Rhys Jenkins before the Newcomen Society . Extracted from The Engineer 1924/06/20. "...At Coalbrookdale were made the first cast iron cylinders for steam engines, and at Broseley one of the very first of Watt's engines was erected.

It is not proposed to deal here with the early history of iron-making in Shropshire; it will be sufficient to say that the blast-furnace made its appearance in the county about the middle of the sixteenth century, say fifty or sixty years after its first introduction into England. A the beginning of the eighteenth century there were perhaps a dozen furnaces at work in the county; they were of small capacity, making on an average from 5 to 10 tons of iron per week, and they used charcoal as fuel. One of these furnaces was in Coalbrookdale, and in 1709 it was leased by Abraham Darby , who had previously been in business in Bristol. A few years later he put up a second furnace. For generations the Darby family was intimately connected with Coalbrookdale; from 1709 to 1791 three Abraham Darbys in succession reigned over these works, but with intervals between the,, for thet were short lived men and left sons under age... Read more here The Discoveries of the Darbys of Coalbrookdale - article in The Engineer 1924/10/17 read before The Newcomen Society .

"One of the most curious things in the history of technical discovery is the obscurity which has surrounded the origin of the practice of smelting ironstone with mineral fuel: and, even today, there is by no means unanimity as to the time and circumstances of the discovery. In the first place, writers who ought to know better have accepted at its face value the claim of Dud Dudley to have smelted and fined iron with pit coal as early as 1620. The few facts that are known of Dud Dudley's life show him to have been of an excessively assertive and untrustworthy disposition; and, until evidence from other sources is forthcoming, we shall do well to regard the assertions made in "Mettallum Martis" with at least the same degree of skepticism as we accord to the claims of other courtly projectors of the Stuart period..." Read more here . Restoration of the Old Blast Furnace In the century after the Old Blast Furnace closed, it became buried. There was a proposal for the site to be cleared and the furnace dismantled, but fortunately, it was decided to excavate and preserve it.

It and a small museum were opened to celebrate 250 years of the Company in 1959. This became part of a larger project, the Ironbridge Gorge Museums . Its Museum of Iron and the Ironbridge Institute form the sides of an open space, on another side of which is the Old Blast Furnace, now under a building to protect it from the weather. The fourth side is a viaduct carrying the railway that delivers coal to the Ironbridge Power Station. One of the two tracks is due to be taken over by Telford Steam Railway as part of their southern extension from Horsehay. The Museum's archaeology unit continues to investigate the earlier history of Coalbrookdale, and has recently excavated the remains of the 17th century cementation furnaces, near the site of the Upper (formerly Middle) Forge. The Old Furnace began life as a typical blast furnace, but went over to coke in 1709. Abraham Darby used it to cast pots, kettles and other goods. His grandson Abraham Darby (1750-1789) smelted the iron here for the Iron Bridge. The lintels of the furnace bear dated inscriptions.

The uppermost reads 'Abraham Darby 1778', probably recording its enlargement for casting the Iron Bridge. It is unclear whether the date on one of the lower ones should be 1638 (as it is now painted) or 1658 (as shown on an old photo. The interior profile of the furnace is typical of its period, bulging around the middle, below which the boshes taper in again so that the charge descends into a narrower and notter hearth, where the iron was molten. When Abraham Darby (1750-1789) enlarged the furnace, he only made the boshes wider on the front and left sides, but not on the right where doing so would have entailed moving the water wheel. The mouth of the furnace is thus off-centre.

See Also ↑ Henry Cort by Samuel Smiles ↑ Derby Mercury, 24 February 1791 Engineering Timelines - Iron Bridge Iron Bridge date November 1777 - December 1780, opened 1 January 1781 era Georgian | category Bridge | reference SJ671034 ICE reference number HEW 136 photo PHEW The first major bridge in the world to be constructed wholly of cast iron. The iconic Iron Bridge spans the River Severn between Broseley and Madeley Wood near Coalbrookdale and gives its name to the town that sprang up around it. It is Britain's best-known industrial monument and remains in use by pedestrians. Rural east Shropshire may seem an unlikely location for a structure that has come to symbolise the Industrial Revolution in Britain. At the start of the 18th century, a shortage of timber � used for making charcoal to fuel blast furnaces � affected iron production so dramatically that pig iron had to be imported from Europe.

In 1709, Abraham Darby (1678-1717) developed a method for using coke instead of charcoal to fuel the smelting furnaces at his Coalbrookdale foundry (SJ665050). Fortunately, the area lived up to its name � there were plentiful coal seams near the surface. Other important raw materials such as iron ore, water, sand, clay and limestone were also readily available in the Severn gorge. And with Abraham Darby�s new technique, high quality iron could be produced in much larger quantities than ever before. Better infrastructure was needed for the iron trade to continue to grow. In September 1775, a bridge was proposed between Broseley and Madeley Wood, using a single span to avoid constructing piers in a river prone to flooding. In March 1776, the Parliamentary Act for a cast iron bridge received royal assent. Thomas Farnolls Pritchard (1723-1777) was the bridge�s architect. The Iron Bridge we see today was his third design, which was approved in June 1776.

Two previous designs, for 36.5m and 27.4m single spans, had been rejected. Abraham Darby's grandson, Abraham Darby III (1750-91), was in overall charge of the construction and casting. Drawings for the detailed design of bridge members were made at the Coalbrookdale foundry by Thomas Gregory, a foreman pattern maker who usually worked with wood. This is probably why the bridge uses carpentry jointing details such as mortises and tenons, and dovetails and wedges, despite the change of materials from timber to iron. Work started in November 1777, but Pritchard died the following month. During 1777-8, the masonry abutments were built and the castings prepared. The bridge has a single semicircular arch of 30.6m span, made up of 10 half ribs, each cast in one piece. It contains 385 tonnes of ironwork and almost 1,700 components, the heaviest weighing 5.5 tonnes.

The ironwork was completed in 1779 � the date is marked on the outer rib � and the whole structure was finished in December 1780, with its official opening as a toll bridge on New Year�s Day 1781. In 1788, the Society of Arts presented Abraham Darby III with their gold medal, in recognition of his achievements in building the bridge. However, in December 1784, cracks were found in the south side of the arch, and the neighbouring abutment showed signs of movement. It was feared that the sides of the gorge were moving towards the river, forcing the feet of the arch towards each other. Repairs were carried out in 1784, 1791 and 1792. In 1800, the stone-faced embankment behind the south abutment was replaced with two small timber land arches to relieve pressure on the river span. The timber arches were replaced with cast iron ones in 1821. In May 1862, the bridge was the subject of further repairs.

Iron Bridge continued to carry vehicular traffic until 1931, when it was closed to all but pedestrians. The bridge was designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1934 and remained a toll bridge until 1950. The toll house (SJ672033) is on the south side. By the time the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust was founded in 1967, the bridge needed major work as a result of ongoing movement of the gorge sides. In 1972-5, a reinforced concrete inverted arch was constructed over the river bed between the abutments. The northern abutment�s rubble fill was replaced with concrete. In 1980, the bridge was blast cleaned and painted with a five coat system. It was Grade I listed in 1983. In 1999, the structure was inspected, the paint retouched a new top coat applied to all the ironwork. Also in 1999, a watercolour sketch of Iron Bridge being built was discovered.

By Swedish artist Elias Martin (1739-1818), and thought to be the only surviving contemporary record of the construction, it sparked an in-depth investigation of how the bridge was designed and made. The bridge was surveyed in 1999-2000, using 3D EDM and CAD techniques, enabling accurate computer modelling of the structure. The data helped English Heritage to assemble a half-size physical model in 2002, reproducing the original construction methods and validating its design. They found that most of the components had been cast individually to ensure a good fit. In 2001-2, cracks in the original cast iron parapet railings were repaired with 3.8mm thick carbon fibre reinforced epoxy plates. The repairs are almost invisible and circumvented the difficulty of welding cast iron in situ. Architect: Thomas F.

Pritchard Contractor: Abraham Darby III, Coalbrookdale Patternmaker: Thomas Gregory, Coalbrookdale Research: ECPK bibliography "Bedlam comes alive again" by Richard Fifield, in New Scientist, Vol.57, No.839, pp.722-725, 29th March 1973 "Industrial Biography: Iron Workers and Tool Makers" by Samuel Smiles, 1863, reprinted by Europaeischer Hochschulverlag GmbH & Co. KG, Bremen, 2010 BBC - Seven Wonders Iron Bridge, Shropshire The world's first iron structure, and arguably the most important bridge ever built, the Iron Bridge, Shropshire, is a must-see for history and engineering fans alike. The bridge was built by Abraham Darby III based on a design by local architect Thomas Farnolls Pritchard, to join the towns of Coalbrookdale and Broseley across the River Severn. The Darby family had long produced iron cooking pots and cast iron tram rails, and Abraham Darby I eventually perfected the technique of smelting iron with coke, allowing for cheaper production.

The bridge itself was later cast at his ironworks in Coalbrookdale by his grandson, Abraham Darby III, leaving him in debt for the rest of his life - a small price to pay for becoming a part of industrial history! Set in the heart of the Severn Gorge, the area soon became known as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and is now recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a result. The 100-foot, 378-tonne bridge was opened to traffic in 1781 and remained open for over 150 years before closing in 1934 to serve the rest of its days as a monument. Recently refurbished and painted, the bridge is accessible by footpath only and allows for stunning views of the Severn Gorge, carved out of the landscape during the last Ice Age. Iron Bridge Facts address: Ironbridge Gorge, Telford, Shropshire. parking: In surrounding town. access: The bridge is open to pedestrians but is now closed to vehicles and free of tolls. Adjacent car park free to orange badge holders. There are designated spaces available in Ironbridge Square car park and the Station car park, with a disabled ramp to the Bridge.

The Bridge itself has a footway on each side with a kerb. The ground floor of the Tourist Information Centre is accessible to wheelchair users. transport: Pay and display car park adjacent to the Iron Bridge and Tollhouse on both sides. Free coach parking in the Station car park. Other local car parks free of charge. From Telford, take junction 4 or 6 off the M54 then follow the brown and white signs to Ironbridge Gorge. The nearest station is Telford Central (5 miles). toilets: Disabled toilet, accessible by ramp, available about 30 metres from the designated parking spaces, with extra turning space and support rails. Available at the nearby Museum of Ironbridge Gorge (Ironbridge, Telford, Shropshire, TF8 7AW: 01952 433 522) Coalbrookdale Cast Iron Foundry Telford CONTACT US Coalbrookdale Cast Iron Foundry Telford Coalbrookdale is a side valley of the Ironbridge Gorge in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of ferrous metallurgy.

It is in the ancient manor and ecclesiastical parish of Madeley. It was one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution. Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Madeley and the adjacent Little Wenlock belonged to Much Wenlock Priory. At the Dissolution there was a bloomsmithy called 'Caldebroke Smithy'. The manor passed about 1572 to John Brooke, who developed coal mining in his manor on a substantial scale. His son Sir Basil Brooke was a significant industrialist, and invested in ironworks elsewhere. It is probable that he also had ironworks at Coalbrookdale, but evidence is lacking. He also acquired an interest in the patent for the cementation process of making steel in about 1615. Though forced to surrender the patent in 1619, he continued making iron and steel until his estate was sequestrated during the Civil War, but the works continued in use. In 1651, the manor was leased to Francis Wolfe, the clerk of the ironworks, and he and his son operated them as tenant of (or possibly manager for) Brooke's heirs.

The surviving old blast furnace contains a cast iron lintel bearing a date, which is currently painted as 1638, but an archive photograph has been found showing it as 1658. What ironworks existed at Coalbrookdale and from precisely what dates thus remains obscure. By 1688, the ironworks were operated by Lawrence Wellington, but a few years after the furnace was occupied by Shadrach Fox. He renewed the lease in 1696, letting the Great Forge and Plate Forge to Wellington. Some evidence may suggest that Shadrach Fox smelted iron with mineral coal, though this remains controversial. Fox was evidently an iron founder, as he supplied round shot and grenade shells to the Board of Ordnance during the Nine Years War, but not later than April 1703, the furnace blew up. It remained derelict until the arrival of Abraham Darby I in 1709. However the forges remained in use. A brass works was built sometime before 1712 (possibly as early as 1706), but closed in 171.

In 1709, Abraham Darby I rebuilt Coalbrookdale Furnace, and used coke as his fuel. His business was that of an iron founder, making cast iron pots and other goods, an activity in which he was particularly successful because of his patented foundry method, which enabled him to produce cheaper pots than his rivals. Coalbrookdale has been claimed as the home of the world's first coke-fired blast furnace; this is not strictly correct, but it was the first in Europe to operate successfully for more than a few years. A second furnace was built in about 1715, but Darby died prematurely in 1717, followed quickly by his widow Mary. Iron for foundry work was not only produced from the blast furnaces, but also by remelting pig iron in air furnaces, a variety of reverberatory furnace. The works then passed to a company led by his fellow Quaker Thomas Goldney of Bristol and managed by Richard Ford (also a Quaker). Abraham Darby II was brought into the business as an assistant manager when old enough. The Company also became early suppliers of steam engine cylinders in this period.

The Company operated a forge at Coalbrookdale from 1720, but this was not profitable. In about 1754, renewed experiments took place with the application of coke pig iron to the production of bar iron in charcoal finery forges. This proved to be a success, and led to the partners building new furnaces at Horsehay and Ketley. This was the beginning of a great expansion in coke iron making. In 1768, the Company began to produce the first cast iron rails for railways. In 1778, Abraham Darby III undertook the building of the world's first cast iron bridge, the iconic Iron Bridge, opened in 1780. The fame of this bridge leads many people today to associate the Industrial Revolution with the neighbouring village of Ironbridge, but in fact most of the work was done at Coalbrookdale, as there was no settlement at Ironbridge in the eighteenth century. In the 19th century, Coalbrookdale was noted for its decorative ironwork. It is here (for example) that the gates of London's Hyde Park were built.

The blast furnaces were closed down, perhaps as early as the 1820s, but the foundries remained in use. The Coalbrookdale Company became part of an alliance of iron founding companies called Light Castings Limited. This was absorbed by Allied Iron founders Limited in 1929. This was in turn taken over by Glynwed which has since become Aga Foodservice. Today people like to collect items made in the Coalbrookdale Foundry. Such items include Garden Benches and Garden Seats - the ranges available include - Serpent and Grape Bench, Convolvulus Bench, Rustic Pattern Bench, Oak and Ivy Bench, Gothic Pattern Bench, Fern and Blackberry Bench, Medallion Bench, Horse Chestnut Bench, Passion Flower Bench, Osmunda Regalis Bench, Osmunda Fern Bench, Water Plant Bench, Lilly of the Valley Bench, Medieval Bench, Nasturtium Bench, Italian Pattern Bench and the Laurel Bench. They were available in permutations of painted or bronze finish, with an Oak or iron seat and back. The original painted colours were green and brown. The Iron Bridge | OpenBuildings The Iron Bridge Our community will be better for it.

References Wikipedia , licensed under the GFDL Suggestions View original size Report The Iron Bridge crosses the River Severn at the Ironbridge Gorge, by the village of Ironbridge, in Shropshire, England. It was the first arch bridge in the world to be made out of cast iron, a material which was previously far too expensive to use for large structures. However, a new blast furnace nearby lowered the cost and so encouraged local engineers and architects to solve a long-standing problem of a crossing over the river. Construction In the early eighteenth century, the only way to cross the Severn Gorge was by ferry. However, the industries that were growing in the area of Coalbrookdale and Broseley needed a more reliable crossing. In 1773, Thomas Farnolls Pritchard wrote to a local ironmaster, John Wilkinson of Broseley, to suggest building a bridge out of cast iron. By 1775, Pritchard had finalised the plans, but he died in December 1777, only a month after work had begun.

Abraham Darby III, who was the grandson of the first foundry owner and an ironmaster working at Coalbrookdale in the gorge, was commissioned to cast and build the bridge. The iron for the new bridge was cast at his foundry. Shares were issued to raise the £3,200 required, and Darby agreed to fund any overspend. Although it had been predicted that 300 tons of iron would be needed (costing £7 a ton), in the end 379 tons were used, costing Darby and his company nearly £3,000. There would be many other costs to bear (masonry abutments, assembly, etc.), so that the project was far more expensive than first envisaged. Darby bore most of the cost over-run, and got into debt for the rest of his short life. Being the first of its sort, the construction had no precedent; the method chosen to create the structure was therefore based on carpentry. Each member of the frame was cast separately, and fastenings followed those used in woodworking, such as the mortise and tenon and blind dovetail joints.

Bolts were used to fasten the half-ribs together at the crown of the arch. Very large parts were needed to create a structure to span 100 feet rising to 60 feet above the river. The largest parts were the half-ribs, each about 70 ft long and weighing 5.25 tons. The bridge comprises more than 800 castings of 12 basic types. The bridge was raised in the summer of 1779, and it was opened on New Year's Day 1781. In 2001, the BBC screened a documentary in which a half-sized model of the bridge was built to test recent research over the construction. Instead of large timber towers, a pair of uprights with a crosspiece was used to erect each of the ribs in sequence. The abutments were built afterwards. Repairs Just a few years after the construction of the bridge, cracks were appearing in the masonry abutments, caused by ground movement. Some of the present-day cracks in the cast iron may date from this time, although others are probably casting cracks. Some were pinned with wrought iron straps, but others have been left free.

By 1802, the southern stone abutment had to be demolished and replaced with temporary wooden arches before eventually being replaced by iron arches. However, many of the cracks visible in the bridge today have been left untouched. The bridge was over-designed and subsequent bridges, such as those built by Thomas Telford, used much less cast iron. For example, his cast iron arch bridge at Buildwas, upstream from Ironbridge, used less than half the weight for a greater span (130 foot span, 170 tons of cast iron). However, it suffered similar problems of abutment movement and was replaced in 1902. The cast iron bridge at Coalport downstream, built in 1818, is even more impressive because of its lean, streamlined design, and it still carries vehicular traffic. It has about half the weight of cast iron and is longer than the earlier iron bridge structure. It was renovated in 2004. More information about how the bridge was built came from the discovery in 1997 of a small watercolour by Elias Martin in a Stockholm museum. This showed the bridge under construction in 1779.

In 1972, a programme of major repairs took place on the foundations of the bridge. It involved creating a ferro-concrete counter-arch under the river. In 1999-2000, the bridge was renovated again, with replacement of the cast iron road plates with steel plates, and a lightweight top surface. These renovations, together with recent research, revealed more about the building process and the manufacture of the cast iron parts. While the smaller parts were cast using wooden patterns, the large ribs were cast into excavated moulds in the casting sand. It is now known that 70 per cent of the components were made individually to fit, and as a result each is slightly different from the others. Darby’s workers employed woodworking joints – mortises and tenons, dovetails and wedges – and adapted them to the different properties of cast iron. English Heritage, together with the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust, carried out a full archaeological survey, record and analysis of the bridge in 1999–2000.

A half-size replica of the main section of the bridge was built in 2001 as part of the research for the BBC Timewatch programme which was shown in 2002. Ironbridge settlement The Iron Bridge became an 18th century tourist attraction and the settlement of Ironbridge grew up beside it. Although described by many as a town, it falls within the parish of The Gorge. Today, Ironbridge is one of the 21 British icons. Iron Bridge Tollhouse The bridge's original toll house is open on weekends during the summer. Exhibits focus on the history of the bridge and its construction. It has now closed down, however. The present day The bridge was finally barred to vehicular traffic in 1934 when it was designated as an ancient monument, but tolls for pedestrians still were collected until 1950, when ownership of the bridge was transferred to Shropshire County Council. It now belongs to Telford and Wrekin Borough Council. Ironbridge as a town, and the bridge itself, is a popular tourist attraction, and part of the UNESCO Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. It is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The bridge is a waypoint on the South Telford Heritage Trail. The Iron Bridge | GeoTopoi The Iron Bridge SJ 67288 03455 ; 52.62785°N, 2.48471°W Information The Ironbridge gorge, with its plentiful natural resources of clay, coal and iron ore, developed as an important industrial centre, and has the reputation of being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. This heritage is symbolised by the Iron Bridge, built in 1779 and the world’s first cast-iron arch bridge. In the 18th century, industries in the Coalbrookdale area were in increasing need of a transport link across the River Severn more reliable than the available ferry crossings. As a solution to this problem the bridge was designed by Shrewsbury architect Thomas Farrolls Pritchard, who died in 1777 just after construction had started. The bridge, with an overall length of 60m and a 30m main span, was built by the Coalbrookdale Company , owned by Abraham Darby III.

It was promoted as a tourist attraction as soon as it was built, and the owners also built a hotel nearby. The bridge itself was not opened to traffic until 1781, the delay probably being accounted for by the time taken to build its toll house. The town of Ironbridge grew up around the bridge.

Question: Who built the first cast iron bridge at Coalbrookdale, opened in 1780?
Answer: (Abraham) Darby